What is the ruling if a splint, after it has been wiped over, falls off during the prayer?

If a person performs a wudu' (or ghusl) in which he wipes over a splint (or any of the other things mentioned above such as poultices and bandages) and begins a prayer with that wudu, and then that splint falls off while he is praying then that prayer is invalid and he must leave it immediately. He must then replace the splint, wipe over it again and begin the prayer anew. If a splint or poultice falls out from beneath a bandage and the person had wiped over that bandage, not the poultice or splint directly, then his prayer remains valid so long as that bandage remains in place.

What is the ruling if the wound heals underneath the poultice?

If the wound (or any of the other things that oblige a person to put on a splint, poultice, plaster or bandage) heals underneath a poultice (or the like) whilst a person is in the midst of his prayer, then that prayer is rendered invalid. He must cut off his prayer, immediately remove the poultice and wash (when it is an area of the body that it is required to wash such as an arm) the healed area that had previously been covered by it or wipe it (when it is an area of the body that it is required to wipe such as the head in wudu'). He may then re-enter his prayer.

If the wound (or any of the other things that oblige a person to put on a splint, poultice, plaster or bandage) heals underneath a poultice (or the like) when a person is NOT in a prayer, then he must follow the steps mentioned above if he wants to remain in a state of ritual purity. If he deliberately delays washing the healed limb for a long period of time, then his state of ritual purity is invalidated. If he delays washing the limb through forgetfulness, then he should wash it as soon as he remembers (making a fresh intention).

Menstruation and Lochia

What is menstruation? What are the different types of menstrual fluid?

Menstruation refers to the period in which blood (or the like) emerges, of its own accord, from the vagina of a woman who is of an age in which women are normally capable of becoming pregnant (in other words, not below the age of puberty or above the age of menopause. (This is usually considered to be between the ages of 9 and 70). There are three different types of menstrual fluid:

1. Blood, which is the basic form of menstruation.

2. A yellow fluid, (resembling yellowy pus).

3. A dirty brown fluid, (resembling muddy water).

Bleeding from the vagina that has an immediate cause - such as the blood that emerges as a result of the process of giving birth, or the blood that emerges after the hymen is ruptured (when a virgin is deflowered), or the blood that flows from a cut or wound (in the vagina), or the blood that emerges due to illness and imbalance in the body - is not considered to be menstruation. Similarly, bleeding from the vagina that occurs outside the normal menstruating period of a woman, even if it emerges of its own accord, is not considered to be menstruation and is known as the blood of istihada, or "false menstruation". Additionally, the blood that emerges from the anus of a woman (even during the time of the menstrual period), the blood that emerges from the vagina of a young girl under the age of nine, and the blood that emerges from the vagina of an old woman over the age of seventy, are all considered to be different from the blood of menstruation.

What is the shortest length of time that the menstrual period can last, and what is the longest length of time that the menstrual period can last?

For the purposes of 'ibada, the shortest period of menstrual bleeding is considered to be the time it takes for a single gush of blood to emerge from the vagina (even if it lasts less than a minute). In other words, what is taken into account for the purposes of acts of worship are the times in which the blood is actually emerging and not the full length of the period, for some women bleed constantly during menstruation while others only bleed on one or two occasions during each day*. It is obligatory for a woman to perform ghusl and perform the prayer if the bleeding stops after (only) a single gush of blood has emerged from her vagina, even if she knows that the bleeding will return to her later in the day or on the next day. (However, if she knows or thinks it highly likely that the bleeding will return within the same prayer time, then it is not obligatory for her to perform ghusl. So, if the bleeding stopped at the beginning of the time of Dhuhr, for example, and she knew from previous experience that it would start flowing again before the end of the time of Dhuhr, she is not obliged to purify herself.) If this single gush of menstrual blood emerges while she is fasting an obligatory fast, then her fast is rendered invalid and she must make that day up.

*[NOTE: Because it is only the times in which the blood is actually emerging that are taken into account in terms of acts of worship, theoretically it is possible for a menstruating woman, if the bleeding only occurs at night and stops before Fajr, to not miss a single prayer or a single day of fasting during her menstrual period.]

For the purposes of 'idda and istibra' *, the full length of the menstrual period is taken into account, not only the times when the blood is emerging. A single gush of blood that only lasts a very short time is not considered to be sufficient to be termed a menstrual period (because a very short period of bleeding is not considered to be a strong enough indication that the woman is not pregnant). The minimum length of time that the blood must flow is determined by consulting the women of a particular locale who are familiar with that information. (The reason for this is because the minimum length of menstruation varies depending on the climate and diet of a particular country, along with other factors, and so it is impossible for there to be a single ruling on this issue. The people most likely to know about the shortest length of a menstrual period in a particular country are the women of that country who are in the know, such as nurses and the like.)

*[ 'Idda here refers to the waiting-period a divorced woman must undergo before she can re-marry. Istibra' here refers to the period in which a person who has bought a slave-girl must wait before it becomes permissible for him to sleep with her; its purpose is to ascertain that she is not pregnant.]

As for the longest length of time that a period can last, the ruling varies depending on whether the woman is having her first menstrual period, has an established length of period or is pregnant.

What is the longest length of time that a menstrual period can last for a woman on her first period, for a woman who has an established length of period and for a woman who is pregnant? What is the minimum period of purity?

The maximum number of days that menstruation can last for the woman on her first period, if the bleeding does not stop, is fifteen days. If she continues bleeding after that, then that blood is considered to be the blood of istihada (false menstruation which comes about because of an illness or imbalance in the body). It does not carry the ruling of menstrual blood and she should discount it. She must make ghusl, perform the prayer and fast, and it is permitted for her husband to have sexual intercourse with her.

The minimum period of purity for all women is fifteen days. If blood emerges from a woman's vagina after the full fifteen days have passed, then that blood is considered to be the start of a new menstrual period. If blood emerges from her vagina before the full fifteen days have passed, then the ruling depends on whether she had completed all of the days of her previous menstrual period (along with the days of istidhhar *) or not:

If she has completed the full number of days of her previous regular menstrual period (along with the days of istidhhar), then that blood is considered to be istihada and the woman ignores its emergence and continues to pray and fast, and may engage in sexual intercourse. It is not obligatory for her to perform ghusl in this instance. [So, for example, if a woman has a normal menstrual period of three days, and had bled for the full three days in her previous period and the three days of istidhhar, but then started bleeding again after, say, ten days had passed, then that new blood would be istihada (blood of false menstruation.]

If she had not completed the full number of days of her previous menstrual period, or had completed the full number of days of the period but not the days of istidhhar, then the new blood is considered to be menstruation and the days in which it emerges are added to the days of her previous menstrual period until the full complement of days is reached. [So, for example, if a woman has a normal menstrual period of three days, but had bled for only two days during her previous period, and then started bleeding again after, say, five days had passed, she would then add one day of the new bleeding in order to complete the total length of her normal period and then three more days to complete the three days of istidhhar. If the blood continues to flow after that, it is istihada. As soon as she completes her full complement of days, it becomes incumbent upon her to perform ghusl, to pray and to fast.]

*[What is meant by the "days of istidhhar " is the period within which a woman checks to see whether the bleeding is going to stop or not and whether she is going to become pure or not. The reason for adding the days of istidhhar on top of the normal days of her period is because it is possible that the extra days of bleeding are because her menstrual period has lengthened. It is not always the case that the extra days are because of illness or imbalance.]

The longest period of time that a menstrual period can last in the case of a woman who has an established length of period, is the usual length of her menstrual period plus three days of istidhhar, so long as, by adding the days of istidhhar on top of her normal period, she is not caused to exceed fifteen days. It is obligatory for a woman to observe the three days of istidhhar, even if she knows that the blood is not menstruation (in that its texture, colour or smell has changed). One occasion is sufficient to establish a normative length for the period. For the purposes of istidhhar, a woman should always build on the longest established period that she has had. So, for example, if the normal period length of a menstruating woman is both four days and five days, she should build on the five days, even if her period had only extended to five days on a single occasion. If the normal length of her period is thirteen days, then she only observes two days of istidhhar, as fifteen days is the maximum length of a menstrual period and she may not go over that. Similarly, if her period is fourteen days, she observes one day of istidhhar and if her period is fifteen days, she has no days of istidhhar. Any blood that continues to flow after those fifteen days is istihada and she discounts it. She prays, fasts and is permitted to engage in sexual intercourse.

The longest length of time that a menstrual period can last in the case of a pregnant woman depends on how much of the pregnancy has passed. If fewer than two months have passed, then the maximum length of her menstrual period is the same as it would have been if she had not been pregnant. If between two and six months have passed, then the greatest period of time that menstruation can last is twenty days. If more than six months have passed, then the maximum duration of a menstrual period is increased to thirty days. These rulings (regarding menstrual periods during pregnancy) are for that small minority of women who experience bleeding while they are pregnant. The norm for most women is that they do not menstruate while they are pregnant, as the blood of menstruation is normally a sign that the woman is not pregnant and that her womb is empty (of a foetus).